Teapot
Artist
Paul Revere
American, 1735–1818
Date1773
Mediumsilver
Dimensions17 × 12.5 × 23 cm (6 11/16 × 4 15/16 × 9 1/16 in.)
ClassificationsMetalwork
Credit LineGift of Richard K. Thorndike
Object number1967.57
Label TextIn 1773, Dr. William Paine (1750-1833) of Worcester commissioned a 45-piece silver tea service as a lavish wedding gift for his bride, Lois Orne (1756-1822). This constitutes the largest single order received by Paul Revere, the famed Boston silversmith, printmaker, and patriot activist. America's colonial elite visibly and quite literally displayed their wealth with silver objects. Valued by weight, this precious metal—in the form of coins, ingots, or decorative wares— functioned as money in an era before standardized currency. Silver also carried the hidden costs of forced Indigenous and African labor as well as environmental degradation in Latin American mines.ProvenanceDr. William Paine, Worchester
Mr. Richard K. Thorndike, bequeathed via his first wife's family believed to trace back to a great uncle, Mr. Henry Saltonstall
Gifted to the Worcester Art Museum by Mr. Richard K. Thorndike
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 3003
Set/Part of a Set